The Spartan Diet: A man’s guide to eating to get ripped

It’s no secret that diet plays a major role in dramatic body transformations. In fact, for 99% of us, it’s almost impossible to out train a bad diet. Now that we’ve begun training like Spartans, we need to start eating like Spartans. And if we can accomplish that, we’ll all watch the fat melt off, unveiling six pack abs and veins we never knew existed.

The following nutritional plan is based off of the work of Dr. John Berardi and his team at Precision Nutrition. John is one of the leading nutritional experts in the world. His company, Precision Nutrition, works with some of the best athletes in the world, as well as handful of professional sports teams. You can see more about the company here.

The diet is simple, yet EXTREMELY effective. It’s designed to minimize muscle loss and strength, while maximizing fat loss.

Cheat, and cheat as often as you like. One stipulation: cheat only within 1-3 hours after an intense workout. Earn your cheat meals.

Eat healthy fats, as much as 40% of your diet: 50% from extra virgin oil, nuts, and avocado oil and 50% from fish oil

Your Daily Calories You’ll Need

Start with 14 calories per pound of bodyweight. Get 35% from protein, 25% from carbohydrates, and 40% from healthy fats. After 4 weeks, adjust your calories accordingly. Don’t make a dramatic adjustment, 100 or 200 calories less or more per day is sufficient.

So for example, a 200lb man would eat 2800 calories per day. The macronutrient breakdown would be 245g of protein, 175g of carbohydrates, and 124g of healthy fats. If after 4 weeks, he still isn’t happy with his fat-loss progress, we’d decrease his carbohydrate intake to 125-150g per day.

That’s it. Simple, yet effective. Follow the daily caloric intake for a minimum of 2 weeks, preferably 4 weeks, and adjust it accordingly following the rules above. In 4 weeks, not only will you feel like a Spartan, you’ll start to look like a Spartan!